Vancouver Film Studios Celebrates Ten Years of Industry Growth

MUMBAI: Vancouver Film Studios marked its first decade of operation with plans for expansion in sound stage capacity and production support services for British Columbia’s film industry. Home to more than 70 productions over the years, with combined budgets of an estimated $2.8 billion, Vancouver Film Studios is one of Canada’s largest film and television studio facilities.

"We’re very grateful to our customers, our staff, and our financial partners, all of whom have supported us since we opened our doors in 1999 but we don’t intend to stand still," said McLean group president and chief operating officer Jason McLean. "The reputation of Vancouver film crews continues to attract new business and among our plans for the future, is the construction of a new very large format sound stage. The demand for quality space remains high and our intention is to keep pace with the needs of an industry that employs so many British Columbians."

Owned and operated by the McLean family of the Vancouver-based McLean Group, Vancouver Film Studios has grown from a collection of warehouses and commercially-zoned land into an internationally recognized production facility with 13 state-of-the-art sound stages, 6 buildings of office space, a lighting and grip rentals service, data and communications network, private gym and on-site helipad. Host to numerous award-winning series and feature films, Vancouver Film Studios sound stages have accommodated the production needs of hits such as Night at the Museum, The Day the Earth Stood Still, X-Men 3, Fantastic Four, J Pod, the critically acclaimed Battlestar Galactica, and the soon-to-be-released mega-feature, 2012.

"When we got into this business ten years ago, we really didn’t know a great deal about it but we developed a business plan that made sense at the time and still does," said chairman, David McLean. "The film industry largely depends on a well-managed infrastructure of services and other incentives at various levels of business and government but it also depends on the talented people who create the movies and television shows that find an audience. As a family-owned company, we’ve concentrated on building a first-rate facility that attracts production talent from all over the world. We leave the story telling up to them."

Vancouver Film Studios is committed to a number of environmental and community-based initiatives. Most notably, it leads the film and television industry in environmental sustainability practices and is the first and only carbon neutral production facility in Canada. Vancouver Film Studios is also an active participant in the City of Vancouver’s Still Creek Enhancement Plan. Still Creek is one of the last two remaining visible streams in urban Vancouver and flows, in part, through the studio’s lot. Additionally, Vancouver Film Studios is a long time supporter of community service organizations operating in their neighborhood (Renfrew-Collingwood). This includes the acclaimed, Collingwood Neighborhood House.